About this project

Skirmos: Open Source Laser Tag

$98,674

pledged of $60,000 goal

471

backers

It's a summer night, and you're playing an intense game of territories inside a misty forest. Your team is rushing the enemy’s base to capture the remaining territories, while you flank. You glance at your gun’s LCD screen; full health and ammo, and your team is down three territories. You quickly capture a nearby objective and receive an overshield; your gun instantly glows red to indicate it. Two enemies poke out of the trees on the right, you raise your gun to aim, and out-shoot them both. Simultaneously, your team successfully captures the remaining objectives. You win! Skirmos is the ideal game you've always wanted to play.

Imagine your favorite first-person shooter video game in real life. Welcome to Skirmos: Skirmish Open Source. Skirmos is an open source laser tag system that can be used for any and every game possible. It has the flexibility to be played indoors or out; in small or large games. Its unique open source nature allows anyone to make their own creative gametypes. Whether it’s free-for-all or capture the flag, a realistic simulation, or a replica from your favorite video game, Skirmos can be played in any manner you can think of.

The photos and videos shown in this project are prototypes. If we are successful in securing funding, we will CAD and print our own system design. The system is extremely safe and cannot be mistaken for weapon replicas. The system has a transparent design with bright RGB LEDs that change colors (Stretch Goal). We, Skirmos, in no way will design the system to replicate real weapons. Our final system design will not match a real gun's shape, it will contain no magazine, and will not have the key features of a real weapon; while still maintaining a great looking design. The Skirmos team has acknowledged Kickstarter's specific guidelines and will not sell or promote weapon accessories or replicas.

The hardware will make Skirmos better than airsoft and lasertag combined. It maintains the realism, range and ruggedness to play outdoors like airsoft, while having the accuracy, feedback, and dynamic cheat-proof gametypes of lasertag. This means the final design of the systems will include accurate iron sights and a rail system for attachments, for ranges over 500 feet.

The most appealing part of the gun is the built-in colored LCD screen. The screen acts like your HUD, displaying important information such as:

Health

Ammo

Kills/Deaths

Team Members

Objective Information

Game Timer

and anything you want!

Always remember that Skirmos is open source. Whatever you want to be displayed on the screen, can be displayed.

For example, if you're capturing an enemy objective, the LCD screen will show you are securing the area. If blue team pulls your flag, an icon displaying a flag will indicate it has been taken. Our main focus is making the LCD screen as dynamic as possible.

Skirmos is powered by the Arduino processing board.

Using the Arduino bootloader, we made it possible to have an open platform that people are familiar with. The individual Skirmos guns will communicate with one another via radios, which will send and receive data reliably. The infrared optics allow Skirmos guns to have extreme ranges. Because the Arduino bootloaders have limited memory, Skirmos systems have a built-in SD card slot for large data storage. The main board will also include a sound card and a port for custom sounds. Any sound effect you want to use during game is possible; for example applause for capturing a territory, or an epic spree annoucment for getting 5 kills in a row.

We have consulted with a well known electrical engineer, Kevin Darrah (www.kevindarrah.com), who has designed a printed circuit board for us.

The system's specifications:

ATMEL 328p (Arduino Bootloader)

Colored LCD screen

Superbright infrared LED

RF Module

SD card slot

Sound Card (that accepts .mp3 and .wav)

Speakers

RGB LED Grids (Stretch Goal - please make it happen :D)

Internal LEDs

Infrared Receivers (38khz)

16mhz clock

Plastic transparent custom shell

Female USB port (data from computer to system)

To start, Skirmos is based off the Arduino programming language.

If you click the photo above, a high-res version will open. As you can see the code is very simple and will be easy to understand.

When you receive your Skirmos system, it will come with preset gametypes. These games will be basic, similar to free-for-all and team slayer. We want you to get started and playing immediately after getting the system.

Now you're wondering, what kind of gametypes are there? The answer is unlimited. Because of the open source aspect, you will be able to create your own gametypes. This might be tweaking with the respawn time on Capture the Flag, to creating your own objectives and modes. So imagine playing custom gametypes that other users have made; like Search and Destroy. Rest assured, you won't need to be a programming master to design your own games. If Skirmos is successful, we will create an auto-builder, a drag-and-drop program to quickly and easily create new gametypes (Stretch Goal). This means that it will involve minimum to no programming whatsoever. We will do everything we can to make sure you can still be creative with it. Of course, there is the option of programming your own gametypes, but it involves a little more knowledge.

Skirmos is going to have a fully functional and dynamic website that will allow you to share gametypes. For instance, we will have a list called "Most Popular", or "Highest Rated", where you can see how others are using Skirmos. Besides the sharing aspect, we will have an interactive forum. You can post ideas, suggestions, ask questions, or tell people how you just kicked the enemy's ass.

A prominent feature of Skirmos is that the software controls the hardware. The open source is what makes Skirmos, Skirmos. You can alter fire modes (Semi-automatic, 3 round burst, automatic, etc), as well as the rate of fire. You can change anything displayed on the LCD screen. Every aspect of the game communicates with the host, while the guns communicate with each other through radio. Skirmos reads input from the trigger, reload button, the IR and RF sensors. Each player will be assigned a special ID, so you can control friendly fire, or even assign the ID different traits like more ammo or less health.

Once you see the countdown hit zero, it's go time! Everything is tracked for you; kills, deaths, objective captures, accuracy, etc. This paragraph belongs to you, because the gameplay is based on how you use Skirmos.

Skirmos will be completely interactive. It will display everything in real time; including kills and deaths. For instance, if you are on a 3 killstreak, you can be prompted by a list of perks. An example of a perk is camouflage, your LEDs turn off, making you harder to see; pretty simple right?

Who doesn't like Arduino? Alright back to the point!

If you want to see more photos of each version, please take a look on our Flickr.

Besides getting the rewards to your doors, we will also continue development of software and hardware. After December, Skirmos steps into a new version, with new concepts and ideas, a new team with more brainpower. Our V.I.P launching party will be in early 2015 (members will notified in advance).

We've been working on Skirmos for over a year now. Most of our nights consist of developing, brainstorming, or planning production (fun fact: we've spent almost 2000 hours on Skype talking about Skirmos!). The systems that you see in the video are fully functional and working prototypes. The more we raise, the more we can do.

With your support, we can happily produce our dream and put a Skirmos system in your hands. While we're eager to start mass production worldwide, your contributions will help fund:

Final enclosure/shell design

Final printed circuit board design

First production costs

Future research and development

Software and website

Unexpected setbacks

Future versions of Skirmos

Thanks for supporting Skirmos, we appreciate all your support! This is the right amount of money to get the product started. Even though most of our complex ideas and thoughts can't be developed, we can build the foundation of what Skirmos is meant to be. The basic gametypes programmed by the Skirmos team will be released to the public (free-for-all and team slayer). And finally, all the basic perks and modes will be available to the public.

Muzzle flash (with bright LEDs around the barrel, muzzle flashes light up when you shoot and let the enemy know where your position is. You could add a perk that dims the flash to remain invisible).

Custom hardcore gametype that ships with the system (A one shot, one life per round, game mode similar to Call of Duty's hardcore playlist)

Custom zombie gametype that ships with the system (similar to Halo's infection mode)

A huge addition to perks (for example, "EMP Blast" that disables enemy's screens for a number of seconds, "Speed" that increases reload time and rate of fire, "Scavenge" where you obtain the enemy's ammo after you killed them, "Camouflage" that turns off your LEDs, or "Infiltrate" that turns your gun to the enemies color for a limited time, and much, much more!) Remember that these gametypes will be programmed by the official Skirmos team.

A gametype constructor (a program to easily create custom gametypes without any programming knowledge)

Custom tech-tree based gametype (upgrade your player in game: play well to unlock perks, receive rewards for your performance)

One in the Chamber (from Call of Duty) gametype, where you have 1 bullet in your gun, and every shot counts because if you kill a player, you get another bullet. If you miss, you're done. Last man standing wins.

Accelerometers: An accelerometer will add movement sensing, orientation tracking, and 3 degrees of freedom to play around with. (for example, you can track general movements from one player to another; developers will find endless possibilities with accelerometers in Skirmos).

Custom gametype similar to Halo Reach's Headhunter (when a player dies, they drop points, and the player that killed them receives their points - player with the most points wins!).

***Smartphone Integration***: Smartphone integration will add Bluetooth modules to Skirmos, but will also open a new chapter in development. Skirmos will now connect with your smartphone and use its GPS to allow virtual airstrikes, objective areas and virtual bases, motion tracking, and radar! Imagine a mini map on your LCD screen with dynamic movement and real time synchronization. With modules that connect your system to the internet, you can make a profile on our website that displays your K/D, Win/Loss ratio, etc. On our website, you can view your most played locations and create groups of friends that play in a specific area. You can set objective points on the map and alert your teammates where the enemy left the flag, for example. Smartphone Integration will allow Skirmos to jump start in technology in a blink of an eye, and will allow us to do more work :)

Custom VIP (Very Important Person) gametype that randomly chooses a player on the team. The VIP has less health, ammo, and glows a distinct color. Your job is to protect them at all costs.

Multi Team (from Halo 3) gametype, multiple teams of two take on each other in various modes and objectives.

Every time a stretch goal is unlocked, a new one will be released and posted :D

The project was thought about when two friends (Ibrahim Pasha / Richard Rice) were working on another project in their basement. They were both thinking about future ideas, and then it came to them. Current laser tag systems require you to travel to an arena and pay a lot of money to barely enjoy it. "What if we made open source laser tag system built around the Arduino?"They decided to potentially revolutionize laser tag!

The third friend (Allen Ivanov) was met through Xbox Live in 2008, from Seattle. Ever since then, the two friends taught the third one programming and altered his interests. They began working on projects, mostly websites including flash games and large forums. The three friends began working on Skirmos in 2012 and split the work between hardware and software.

Ibrahim Pasha (Founder / Hardware Designer)Ibrahim has studied Mechanical Engineering for two years, and will be studying Information Systems at University of Maryland, Baltimore this fall. He has a background in circuit design, CAD modeling, and low level programming. He enjoys tinkering with mechanical and electrical components, as well as inventing new machines and products. For Skirmos, Ibrahim has assembled and constructed the systems; he is head of hardware and Skirmos.

Richard Rice (Founder / Software Designer)Richard is currently studying Computer Science at University of Maryland, College Park. He enjoys programming games based on what he has played in the past. He is fluent in Ruby, Java, Python, and C, and is adjusting to the Arduino programming language. For Skirmos, Richard has written the operating system called openSkirm, programmed numerous gametypes, and programmed the entire code from scratch.

Allen Ivanov (Founder / Software Designer & UI Designer)Allen studies Computer Science and Engineering at University of Washington, Seattle and has been programming since early middle school. Since High school, he realized how computers control most of our lives today, and began working on small projects. He has a background in game programming, web development, and cinematography. He enjoys programming games and designing dynamic websites. For Skirmos, Allen has designed the user interface, programmed several gametypes, and designed the video and Kickstarter page.

First of all, thanks for checking this project out. We are a motivated group of students who wish to improve physical gaming. We believe Kickstarter will help us turn a simple dream into actuality. Most of our ideas came from playing games together, like Halo 3, Command and Conquer Generals, and Planetside 2. Did you enjoy this project? Sharing is caring, so please tell your friends about this! More information and updates on our Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.HD photos including our previous versions located on our Flickr.Don't forget to visit our website, where you can subscribe to email updates!And last but not least, there are more videos on our Vimeo and Youtube.

Special Thanks:

Matthew Lee-Beasley for acting

David Yi for acting

Jeevan Gaberria for acting

Gregory Fayerberg for acting

Anya Ivanov for acting

Dimitri Ivanov for filming

Risks and challenges

Skirmos has all of its basic research and development finished, and it's now up to design processes and manufacturing. A printed circuit board is already designed and all of the discrete components will be placed on one small board. This will increase manufacturing, lower costs, and make the system more reliable. Our biggest worry is the setup for mass production, as well as risks in manufacturing including raw material delays and assembly delays, risks in the shipping process and being able to scale to project for massive orders, but we are confident we can make it happen.

After Kickstarter, a whole new chapter opens up for endless possibilities and new ideas. We hope to get an office if we are successful so we can start developing as fast and productively as possible. Once backers receive their systems, we are open to ALL OPINION AND FEEDBACK. After every version of Skirmos, a thread on our forum will be made labeled "wishlist" where we listen to our fans and supporters! Skirmos will be the kind of company that listens and fathoms their users, working hard to make sure the system is built and capable in any environment.

Minor challenges may include the scope of the objective styled playlists; which will require much more research and experimentation. We're confident that we can get through these barriers and have an amazing product for the world. We can make this one possible with your kind help! Thank you!

Support this project

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Pledge $5 or more
About $5

High Five - Thanks for your support! You'll get a special shout out from the Skirmos team. The more we raise, the more we accomplish. You are helping create the next generation of laser tag. You will also receive exclusive updates if you include your email :)

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Pledge $25 or more
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We’ll send you a Kickstarter exclusive Skirmos tee (see description). Make sure to specify your size! Everybody will know that you were a supporter of the next gaming revolution. Free shipping to the U.S.

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Pledge $99 or more
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[EARLY LIMITED SPECIAL] - Be among the few to own the first version of Skirmos. Your feedback and review will help us polish future versions. This is the basic package which includes one Skirmos system. Get your friends to buy their own systems so you can play with each other. Domestic shipping to U.S./Canada -> please add $13.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $115 or more
About $115

Be among the few to own the first version of Skirmos. Your feedback and review will help us polish future versions. This is the basic package which includes one Skirmos system. Get your friends to buy their own systems so you can play with each other. Domestic shipping to U.S./Canada -> please add $13.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $199 or more
About $199

[EARLY LIMITED SPECIAL] - Receive 2 first version Skirmos systems. With two systems, you can play a 1v1, or combine with other backers for larger games. You’ll always be able to connect more systems together for bigger battles. Domestic shipping to U.S./Canada -> please add $16.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $215 or more
About $215

Receive 2 first version Skirmos systems. With two systems, you can play a 1v1, or combine with other backers for larger games. You’ll always be able to connect more systems together for bigger battles. Domestic shipping to U.S./Canada -> please add $16.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $390 or more
About $390

[EARLY LIMITED SPECIAL] - Have a team and want to play together? Receive 4 first version Skirmos systems; you’ll be able to play a 2v2 or a 4 player FFA. You always have the option of connecting with other players, to unleash Skirmos to its true potential. Play casually, or create tournaments for hardcore players. Domestic shipping to U.S./Canada -> please add $32. Hope to see your squad on the battlefield!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $420 or more
About $420

Have a team and want to play together? Receive 4 first version Skirmos systems; you’ll be able to play a 2v2 or a 4 player FFA. You always have the option of connecting with other players, to unleash Skirmos to its true potential. Play casually, or create tournaments for hardcore players. Domestic shipping to U.S./Canada -> please add $32. Hope to see your squad on the battlefield!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $499 or more
About $499

[GOON] - This time you’ll receive a unique poster, golden certificate, and the exclusive tee with 4 first version Skirmos systems. A special card will be included from the original founders thanking you for an amazing purchase which you won’t regret. Free shipping to the U.S. Prepare for battle soldier!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,337 or more
About $1,337

[LEET] - You are amazing - This amount of money will help the software and hardware greatly. You will get exclusive access to our launching party, as well as meeting the team. You’ll get direct access to our engineers, for any questions or comments regarding the system. Of course, you’ll receive the entire GOON reward including the 4 Skirmos systems. You will be recognized as a financial founder of Skirmos, and will have our love forever. Free shipping anywhere - sorry, except Antarctica :)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $4,999 or more
About $4,999

[GENERAL OF THE ARMY] - This is the ultimate. It’s unexplainable, simply. The team will be shocked, the ideas will be taken to the next level, the development will be put in action. You helped us make Skirmos a reality and kickstart the next physical gaming generation. You will be followed on twitter by our official page (@skirmos) and invited to our exclusive launching party as a VIP, as well as an exclusive dinner on us. Everything from the LEET package will be included, as well as a dedicated page with your name on our website. Free shipping anywhere, just for you! Thanks so much!